Awards & Reviews

Bronze: Int. Chardonnay Challenge (Gisborne) 2004

Silver: Liquorland Top100 2004

(19/20) Deep lemon, very attractive. Bouquet on this wine is little short of sensational, great New Zealand and Hawkes Bay chardonnay, chockfull of golden queen peaches and finest glacé figs. Oak and complex wine- making inputs have melted away into wonderful harmony. Palate develops the yellow fruits delightfully, the flavours long and fine and powerful, yet almost delicate on the tongue, with satisfying baguette-crust yeast autolysis and complexity. This is stunning wine, and the aftertaste superb. Interesting to see the more yellow stonefruits characters of the mendoza clone alongside and relative to the more white stonefruits of the top Jadots. Cellar 3 - 8 years.

Geoff Kelly - Regional Wines & Spirits (July 2005)

Spicy, savoury oak backs aromas of ripe melons and peaches. Perfect focus on the palate gives this wine instant appeal. It's creamy, rich and nicely balanced, and boasts a long, citrus edged finish.

Vic Williams - The Foodtown Magazine (31 July 2005)

My sort of wine. Big, bold, ripe, spicy, oaky; all the stuff I want in a chardonnay, but it also has layers of subtle flavour. Buy to drink now and for a few years to come.

Hugh Wood - Hamilton Press (29 June 2005)

*** A nice serious style and looking youthful despite its three years. Some overt oak is still melding and the citrus and cream butteriness is still tasting as though it wants another year or two to finish developing and coming together.

Hawke's Bay, Winestate [Aus] (Sept/Oct 2005)

A really full flavoured, richly textured Chardonnay that has a strong melted butter and ripe fruit character. There is plenty of toasty, spicy oak but it is well integrated and the wine is perfectly balanced. From the excellent 2002 vintage the wine has developed well in bottle and is fully ready to drink.

Jane Skilton - Hospitality Magazine (31 May 2005)

This is a classic example of Hawke's Bay Chardonnay made from specially selected and carefully handled fruit. A weighty, soft and creamy wine that fills the mouth with a cocktail of Hawke's Bay pip fruit and grapefruit.

Warren Barton - The Dominion Post (5 Feb 2005)

A robust wine with lots of fruit and toasty oak and yeasty flavours. There is nice mouth feel adding interest to the complex stone fruit flavours and firm acid finish. This wine has lots of flavour but it is perfectly balanced and complements well flavoured food.

Peter Shaw - Waikato Times (15 Dec 2004)

This is the premium Chardonnay of the brand, and breaks with previous wines of its line by having a large portion of its blend handled in traditional French style. French technique calls for hand-picked grapes, with the berries still on their stalks at pressing, and for fermentation in barrels, with the spent yeast cells being periodically stirred back into suspension during time in barrel after fermentation.
It is expensive and complicated, but softens and broadens the wine, as sweetness added at bottling is intended to. The Church Road Reserve wine is broad, mellow and complex, and distinctly French in style, with the richness and texture of ripe apricots and a smooth, dry, finish. It is part of the Montana stable and reflects the utilitarian philosophy of its parent, in being unfussy, satisfying, interesting and enjoyable, and a reflection of old-world tradition that asks for little more.

Tim Harris - Canvas, The NZ Herald (21 Aug 2004)

Ripe fruit flavours of peaches and guavas with hints of toasty oak. An opulent Hawke's Bay wine from a good year. A well-balanced, full-bodied wine.

Roger Ewer - Greymouth Evening Star (7 Aug 2004)

A touch of citrus combines with classy oak in this mealy, mouth filling, smooth creamy wine. Actually there's lots of citrus and tropical fruits too. An 'elegant' style say the judges but I find it deliciously rich and mouth filling with concentrated stonefruit flavours lingering.

First Glass Fine Wine Wednesday, Wineoftheweek.com (16 June 2004)

***V A harmonious wine, rich and melow with an oily texture and sweet fruit, with a lovely hint of nuts and a long, crisp, well-balanced finish.

Charmian Smith - Otago Daily Times (May 2004)

This full-bodied wine has a cedary, smoky aroma and a creamy texture.

Glenda Neil - Best Buys, Next (March 2004)

... a robust wine that has lots of fruit and toasty oak and yeasty flavours. There is a nice mouth-feel that adds interest to the complex stone fruit flavours and the firm acid finish. This has lots of flavour but it is perfectly balanced and will complement any well-flavoured food.

Peter Shaw - Waikato Times (March 2004)